NEWS

AP scores show Illinois
moving toward
“Second to None”— McGee

EMBARGOED UNTILNOON, AUGUST 29, 2000

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Chicago – Illinois
public high school students notched the top average score in the
nation on the 2000 Advanced Placement (AP) exam administered by the
College Board, which also gives the SAT college entrance examination.

This
year’s graduating class posted an average score of 3.29 on a 1
to 5 scale on the AP test. The nationally administered test assesses
students’ skills and knowledge in courses that generally mirror
collegiate-level work and align with the rigorous Illinois Learning
Standards.

“We
have been talking for a long time about making Illinois education Second
to None,” said State Superintendent of Education Glenn W. McGee. “This
is a great step in that direction.I
am ecstatic, because these scores show that many of our students
have committed themselves to being the best they can be. This is
a tremendous achievement.”

The
number of students taking the exam grew as well. In Illinois, 29,944
students took one or more AP exams in May 2000. That total is up
12 percent over 1999, and up 46 percent from five years ago. In
the Midwest, 131,794 students took the AP test in 2000.

The
AP scores were announced today along with the state’s SAT scores.
Illinois students scored an average of 568 on the SAT Verbal test,
down one point from last year; and an average of 586 on the SAT
Math test, up one point from last year.Both
scores continue to far outpace the national averages of 505 on
the Verbal test, and 514 on the math test. Each test has an 800-point
scale.

Compared
to the ACT, only a small proportion of Illinois students take the
SAT, largely because most Midwestern universities and colleges
tend to favor the ACT.The
number of students taking the SAT in Illinois dropped to 15,748
(12 percent of this year’s graduating class), down 472 from 1999.
In comparison, about 90,000 (72 percent) public and private high
school graduates took this year’s ACT.

Both
the SAT and ACT are strong indicators of students’ likely success
in college and, equally important, of the value of Illinois’ standards-led
educational system.

The
SAT results – and in particular, the AP figures – mirror what was
evident with the ACT – students who took more demanding high school
coursework showed stronger performance. Conversely, the results
from both testing programs also showed a disparity in test scores
and access to such curricula among minorities.

“We
must do everything we can to ensure that every student, regardless
of his or her socioeconomic condition has every opportunity to
succeed,” McGee said. “And that means making
sure that all of our students are encouraged to try new courses
that will challenge and excite them,” he said. Illinois recently
received a $759,186 federal grant to help pay AP exam fees for
lower income students.

The
percent of minority students taking one or more AP exams this year
increased in every minority group. Still, of this year’s 29,944
AP test takers, only 9,038 were minorities. Of that number, 3,874
Asian, 1,566 African American and 2,201 Hispanic students took
the AP.

More
telling, though, is the percent of students with scores in the
3 to 5 range. About 76 percent of white students’ test scores hit
that target, compared to about 55 percent of scores for African
American students and about 33 percent of Hispanic students’ scores.

Finally,
teachers should be encouraged to take better advantage of available
training to teach the kind of coursework tested by the AP, SAT
and ACT programs, McGee said. The College Board
annually conducts dozens of teacher conferences and seminars showing
educators successful teaching methods, said Paula T. Herron, College
Board Associate Director for Academic Services.

Illinois
teachers, who now must engage in ongoing professional development
for continued certification, can earn continuing professional development
credits for such activities, McGee said.